Hello Mudblood
by Dragon'sFury547
Summary: Hermione Granger always expected to end up with Ron Weasley. What happens now that Draco Malfoy, her once arch enemy, is back in her life? And not for all good reasons? Rated PG-13 for violence and sexual situations. 2014 Dragon'sFury547
1. Saturday's

**(A/N: ****Heyy everyone! This is a Dramione story I'm very excited to write and I hope you enjoy it ! First of all the story is not for the faint hearted it might get a little rough so watch out. Second, I go but the story line of the BOOKS not the movies -_- so yeahh everyone who died is dead and so one and so forth the only thing that's changed of course is the whole Hermione/Draco thing. Okk thanks again & enjoy!)**

Hermione Granger was not an idiot. In fact, she was quite the opposite. She was an intelligent witch (they don't call her the brightest witch of her age for nothing), and she soaked up information like a sponge. So if someone told her that only 2 years after the war that she would run into none other the Draco Malfoy himself, she probably would have said "Merlin's pants! Are you ill?"

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Hermione walked into the small, comfy, muggle coffee shop she went to every Saturday morning to get her favorite drink and a bagel. She was following her usual schedule, get up, get ready, and head to the coffee shop with _Hogwarts, A History _(disguised of course, to look like a muggle novel) in hand. She left her small flat on Diagon Alley and walked there. Of course, she could have just gone to The Leaky Cauldron, but she liked to get away sometimes. She always had her wand with her, just in case, but she liked going out into the muggle world without anyone knowing who she was or coming up to her and giving their thanks for all she's done. Here, she was just a normal 21 year old woman going out for coffee on a Saturday morning.

As she entered the shop, she went straight up to Dan the cashier and ordered her usual. As her drink was being prepared she took a look around the room to see if someone had taken her favorite chair in the back of the room by the larger window. When she saw that the chair was empty, smiled to herself thinking it would be a great Saturday.

She got her seat and plopped down in the comfy suede armchair, lightly sipping her drink. She really did have much on her mind today…

Straight after the war, she went to Australia to revive her parent's memories and get the back to London. The trip there had been fine, although apparating could be so exhausting; getting her parents memory back had been fine as well, but after they finally figured out what their daughter had done, all hell had broke loose. They were so angry that she had done this to them when her life was on the line. What if you had been killed? they asked. We would have never had known that we had a daughter in the first place! they exclaimed. Once they were done saying the things they needed to, Hermione explained the full reason of why she put her loving mother and strong willed father away in Australia, was because she was the most targeted muggle-born witch in all of Europe, and in a way to find her the Death Eaters would try to harm her loved ones. They understood after that, (but were still very upset) and went home to London with their only daughter.

She got a job at the Ministry in the Legal Department, but quickly got bored with it as all of her co-workers gave her their work that they themselves were too lazy to do. Instead, she opened her own book store on the corner of Diagon Alley right next to Madam's All Occasion Robes. Of course her little shop couldn't really compete with Flourish and Blott's, but she sold novels of all kinds by both muggle and wizard authors alike. Business was booming for _Hermione's Books for All_, and she got to be around her favorite thing in the world every day.

Her, Harry, and Ron were all still friends, but Hermione, not being in the Auroa program at the Ministry, was so distant from them now. Harry had married Ginny after the war and in the first year they had little James Sirius. 'So adorable really,' she had thought when he was born. Ginny again was pregnant with their second son Albus Severus. Hermione got very teary eyed when they told her the name of their soon to be born. She loved that Harry and Ginny were naming their children after people who had some much impact on their lives for so long.

Ron on the other hand was a completely different story. They had gotten together at the end of the war thinking that all this time they were really in love. But then as their relationship started to grow even more, this thing between them became worse and worse. There was non-stop fighting and bickering, insults hurtled and screamed. At one point things were so low they started throwing hexes at each other. Hermione got Ron with such a good Bat Boogey Hex that it would even rival Ginny's. Of course, after the fighting they would make up and apologize for acting completely mental and go back to the way things were. But they scarred their relationship so badly and had at it for 2 long years; they ended it about 2 months ago. Neither could take it anymore so they split but agreed to saying 'the past is the past now let's get on with the future' and still be best friends like before.

Since the war, Hermione's look has changed quite a lot. She wasn't the same bookish know-it-all she was in her years at Hogwarts. She was about an average height and was rather thin like always but not on the scrawny side. She had finally grown some curves and cleavage, making her looks more feminine and pretty. Her hair was longer than it had ever been and it was down a bit past her bum, but it was healthy and smooth and not a tangled bushy haired mess.

Hermione continually sipped her drink while read her book, and started to butter her bagel. She felt a pair of eyes on her, so she turned to see who.

She came face to face with a man with platinum blonde hair and storm grey eyes. He was tall and built like and athlete and had high cheekbones and straight lips. He had a clear face and looked rather familiar to her. When she finally meets his eyes, she gasped. Standing there was Draco Malfoy.

He smirked at her as her heard he gasp. She shivered when he looked at her. The only thing she remember whenever she saw him was the day in the Drawing Room at Malfoy Manor, when Bellatrix tortured her. The day brought back horrible memories and she had nightmares constantly about it.

She got a huge wave of nausea as he started towards her. She immediately started grabbing for her things to leave. And just as she was about to get her book from the coffee table, a hand reached out and grabbed it for her. Again she meets his eyes, and was truly scared of this man and was sure that she was showing it by the look of anger and disgust he had on his face.

"Hello, mudblood."

**(A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review too ill update as soon as I can Hope there wasn't any spelling or grammar mistakes please let me know if there are and I can fix them ~Sabrina~)**


	2. Old Habits Die Hard

**(A\N: Jeez! It's been quite a while hasn't it? I'm really sorry I haven't updated in so long but I've been extremely sick. I've been in and out of hospital's and doctors offices since November of last year! Anyway, it's been a while but I think I've still got my grove xD. Hope you like it.)**

_Bloody hell, _were Hermione's first thought as her childhood nemesis stood, towering over her, with that _ridiculous _smirk on his face. She though quickly as to how to reply to his derogatory remark, but thought; _why stoop to his level? Why fight fire with fire, when really he is below you in so many ways?_ That's what she would do. She wouldn't let his snide remarks get in the way of her perfect Saturday. She would 'kill him with kindness,' as her mother always said when she was young.

But as she went to give him a fake smile, she looked at him and realized how much he had changed from their years at Hogwarts. He was taller, much taller, around 6'3 maybe only about an inch or two short of Ron. But Malfoy was much more muscular from what she could tell. He had on a white cotton button down shirt, with a pure black blazer and thin tie, black slacks and black dress shoes. _Typical Malfoy, _she thought, _always dressed to prove he's better than everyone else even on a damned Saturday._ Through his clothes though, she could see a lean, hard, and muscular body. He was still pale skinned but it suited him because of his platinum blonde hair. He looked much more grown up and handsome now then when he was younger. He was always good looking but was lanky and awkward. Now as an adult he had grown to his full potential.

His face had changed dramatically as well. He wasn't the same paled face child with boyish features any more. He was a man with features any sensible woman would swoon after no matter the consequences. His face was hard and strong with extremely high check bones, straight smooth lips, a pointed chin and nose. His eyebrows and eyelashes were the same color as his hair, platinum blonde, his eyes a storm grey.

"Like what you see, mudblood? Because you can look but it'll cost you to touch." He said with a smirk.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Hermione replied in an annoyed tone, "No thanks, Malfoy. You have your whores for that don't you?"

He raised his eyebrows at her, surprised at her comment. "Granger, my whores are much better looking than your disgusting self. And they come to me willingly; by the way, I don't have to persuade them." He said with a wolfish grin that made his eyes dance with mischief and pleasure at being able to get under her skin again.

"Right," she replied in a tone that clearly explained she didn't believe him, "and that's why they all have shite for brains correct?"

"Whoa now! Granger's ACTUALLY used profanity! Say mudblood, look out that window for me and see if any pigs are flying will you?"

"Piss off." She spat.

"Make me." He said, with a look in his eye that said _I dare you to try._

What happened to her plan to kill him with kindness? _Damn_, she thought, _stupid ferret getting under my skin._

She started to gather her things, fed up with having to deal with him on a day that she was supposed to have to relax. She grabbed her book and half eaten bagel, and stuffed them in her bag. She picked up her coffee making a leave for the coffee shop when she heard Malfoy speak again.

"Running scared again, mudblood?" He said with a sneer so ugly it made his handsome features look distorted as if he was in pain.

Hermione's fury was at maximum and she exploded. She didn't yell or scream or throw things at him like she wanted to, but instead walked up and looked him straight in the eye (which was difficult seeing as she was 5'3 and he 6'3, exactly a foot taller than her).

"I never ran scared." She started off, in a low voice that shook with fury. "You, on the other hand, were so careless and _stupid_. You would be dead if it wasn't for myself, Harry, and Ron, correct?" She tilted her head at him, glad at the irate fury passing over his face, from the truth of her words. "We saved your life TWICE, you worthless excuse for a human." She bit out become choked up at the flashbacks she was getting.

"But how about the time we were at the Manor? You did nothing. You are a coward, and a pathetic little boy who wanted to follow after his father's stupid mistakes. I loathe you. No, wait," She changed her mind, "I don't even loathe you anymore. Now, all I feel is pity." Her face was alight with disgust and distain at having to even point this out to him. Her eyes were like coals now. So dark, they looked black, because of the state of fury she was in.

He face matched hers. Alight with fury and disgust, his eyes a steel grey. The though of this mudblood speaking to him this way pissed him off beyond anything, but having her actually doing it, made his whole body tingle and his eyes seeing red. And the fact that she pitied him caused him to want to wring her neck right then and there, not caring if anyone was watching.

Instead of doing what he wanted, he spoke; "I am no coward." He spat out. "You don't know _anything_ about what _I _went through. You barely know anything at all-"She went to cut him off angrily but before she could speak; "I'm not finished." He growled. He stared down at her again, continuing.

"You are a bloody know-it-all, who can't keep her filthy, bushy haired, dirty blooded, _arse_ out of other people's damn business! I don't care about you saving my life anymore! I don't owe you, or Pothead, or the bloody Weasel, a minute of my time. So you can try and guilt me into things that happened in the past mudblood, or you can get over the fact that I am a rich bachelor, who can have any woman I want. Unlike you, you'll grow up to be an old maid living with a bunch of cats, dying alone, and probably stay a bloody virgin the rest of your miserable life! You are an ugly bitch, who needs to learn when to speak when spoken to and do _not _disrespect people who are of a high importance to you."

They stared at each other a few seconds Malfoy being done with his rant, and Hermione's fury just completely spilling over and causing her vision to blur. And before either of them could blink, Hermione Granger took the lid off her coffee and spilt it atop of Draco Malfoy's head, and stomped on his foot for good measure, before leaving the coffee shop and a stuttering and burned Draco, behind.

Old habits die hard, you could say.

**(A\N: Well, hope you liked it! Give me some feed back if you want, I would definitely appreciate it! I also want to know if you guy's want me to do the whole beginning from Draco's POV as well. Let me know if you do and I'll get started on it! I put a Poll on my profile if you wanna check that out too. Thanks again! ~Sabrina~)**


	3. I Didn't Mean It

**(A\N: Well here's the next chapter for those who enjoyed it Thanks again)**

Hermione stormed out of the coffee shop, with a pounding head and blurred vision. She was beyond angry. Words could not describe the hatred and disgust she felt for Draco sodding Malfoy.

Hermione went to walk back to her flat, taking an alley way that would make it faster for her to get there, by avoiding the traffic. The alley was full of dirt and trash everywhere. Old soggy boxes, torn newspaper, pieces of scrap metal and broken glass littering the way. There were fire escapes coming down the sides of the buildings that made up the alley itself. Normally, any human being with rational common sense would know that going down this alley way would not be a wise choice. But for Hermione, she didn't care any longer. If she could face Lord Voldemort, then she could face some stupid alley way.

As she walked, she contemplated why Malfoy would be in a muggle coffee shop anyways. Work? No, he took over Malfoy Enterprises when his father died just a year after the war. Friends? She doubted it, seeing as he hated muggle's and all things that had to do with them. Then, what? She couldn't place it, and it was bothering her just thinking of something that he could be up to.

She had seen plenty of articles in the _Daily Prophet _and _Witch Weekly _about the infamous and dashing Draco Malfoy. The articles all talked about how he was the most eligible bachelor in all of Wizarding England. They talked about all the woman he dated (quite a few), but had never had the desire to settle down. There was also a rumor that said Malfoy was abusive. She had a _very_ bad feeling that that rumor maybe true. Even if he was, he had never been caught or turned in which may mean he had maybe blackmailed or threatened the woman that he had physically hurt.

She thought back to the cruel words he had said to her. They really had struck her at heart, making her chest have a heavy feeling to it. She was never one to cry, and if she did it would have been in drastic measures. But what he said made her feel horrible. She had gotten used to Malfoy's taunts in school and they had never really bothered because he always used the same insults. Maybe it had been the period of time since she had seen him that caused the words to hurt more than they should.

Hermione was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't hear the rapid footsteps approaching her.

When she finally realized that someone was coming up to her, she had turned around and saw a _very_ upset Malfoy getting closer and closer. She whipped out her wand ready to send a _Stupefy_ his way, but before she could he shot a disarming spell and her wand was thrown from her hand into his. Hermione gasped, she had expected Malfoy to be mad but she had not expected him to do this. She was about to scream at him to give her wand back, but he had reached her.

His hands wrapped around her throat, and he slammed her into the wall closest to them, causing her eyes to blur and knees to wobble from pain and fear. She knew already that he had done some real damage to her head. She felt the blood coming down her neck already, and she was becoming dizzy. She gasped for breath as his hands tightened around her neck. She was slowly slipping into unconsciousness, but was still able to hear him speak.

"Listen here, and listen good mudblood. You shouldn't have done that. You will pay, because I swear to Merlin that you won't get away with this." He snarled at her.

Hermione's whole body was throbbing. She had heard him, loud and clear, but now she mostly feared for her life. He hadn't noticed that when he had spoken he had lifted her off her feet and that her bleeding head was pressed against the dirty wall. His hands were still around her neck to where she could breathe somewhat, but she had to gasp. She knew there would be a hand shaped bruise there for a while unless she went to a proper Healer and soon.

"Please," she started to beg, tears slipping silently down her cheeks, not caring about her pride anymore," please Malfoy! I'm sorry! Please you're hurting me!" She whimpered at him.

She saw through fuzzy vision that his eyes were leaving the steel grey almost black color, going back to their original light storm grey. His face having a mix of emotions pass over it. Surprise, horror, fear, all three emotions flashing over his face seconds before she felt him release his hands from her neck.

She hit the ground with a very loud thud. She gave a whimper of pain as her already bloody head hit the ground, causing more blood to gush from the new wound, making a small puddle. The tears slipped down her face, but she refused to sob. She wouldn't give him the pleasure of seeing her more vulnerable than she already was.

All of a sudden, she felt a hand slowly grip her chin and gently move her head so she was facing the man who had attacked her.

"Granger." Malfoy said, looking at her with worried and fearful eyes.

He dropped his hand from her chin and, not having the strength to hold it up, dropped her head back to the ground. She lay there wondering if he was going to kill her or not when she felt his arms around her waist lifting her up. The fuzz that was clouding Hermione's mind just seconds before had cleared, and she started to struggle against Malfoy, afraid he was going to hurt her again. She went to hit anywhere she could, hoping to Merlin that she would reach her wand.

"Granger." He repeated, but she continued to struggle. "Granger, stop! I'm trying to help you!"

"You did this to me in the first place!" she screamed at him.

"I know! I didn't mean to-"

"BULLSHIT!"

Malfoy looked at her funny for her use of language but then looked at the blood running down her neck and shoulders soaking her shirt and sticking to her skin. Hermione was losing consciousness and the last thing she heard before she slipped into blackness was;

"I didn't mean it, Granger…"

**(A\N: Hope you liked it. Give me some fed back if you want. I'll try to update tomorrow, but I doubt I'll have time. Happy Easter everyone. )**


	4. Temper Issuses

**(A\N: Just want to say thank you to everyone who Story Alerted or a Favorite Alert on my story. Thanks again guys, I'm glad you're liking it. So this chapter is mostly in the way Draco saw everything. Why he did it and what he's been doing since the war and so on and so fourth. Anyway, here's the chapter. )**

Draco Malfoy was always know to be cruel with words at Hogwarts, but the only time he was physically hurting someone it was on the Quidditch field.

After the war, the trial held at the Ministry included all 3 Malfoy's; Narcissa, Lucius, and of course, Draco. Narcissa Malfoy was the first trial held, seeing as she never took the Dark Mark, and saved Harry Potter's life. She was given 5 years of house arrest as punishment. Lucius Malfoy wasn't so lucky. He was given a lifetime sentence in Azkaban, in one of the highest guarded cells there. He died, only about a year later, from starvation and insanity. Draco was given a year's house arrest for his crimes. Although he had done many horrible things as a Death Eater, it was because if he hadn't he would have either been slaughtered by his father or the Dark Lord.

Narcissa Malfoy was devastated when the news of her husbands' death reached her. She committed suicide and left a letter to her only son explaining that it was her duty as Lucius' wife to follow him to the after life. Draco thought that was a load of rubbish, that she just couldn't take being alone for the rest of her life once he was released of his probation and left. He couldn't stay at the Manor any longer, for the grounds itself haunted him in his sleep. All the screaming prisoners and the deaths of the innocent, the fact that the most feared wizard on earth had stayed there had ruined his childhood home. So he stayed in a small cottage on the outskirts of the woods by the Manor, so he was close to home but not so close as to he was constantly reminded.

After his year's house arrest was over he proceeded to restore the Malfoy name to its original, highly respected, and powerful reputation. But after having so little contact with another human being except his mother and his elves, he felt so different. He would lose his temper quickly, and turn violent in the most ridiculous situations. He believed that it was all left over anger from his father using him to do horrible things during the war, but his shrink said it was not having any human contact for so long that he could lose his top at nearly anything nowadays.

That was why he had hurt her. He didn't mean it of course, but he lost control and all he had wanted to do was rip her throat out for saying those things to him. He'd hurt other women before but never had it gotten that out of control and so fast. He had gotten the other women to keep quiet about it so he wouldn't get thrown in prison for abuse. But Hermione Granger was different compared to all these other women. She wouldn't take money, or be talked into letting Draco of the hook from something so intolerable. That was what worried him the most about this situation.

He looked down at her still form. There was so much _blood_. It was coming from her head and running down her neck and making a disgusting deep red colored puddle on the dirty ground. He had long gotten over his blood prejudices', and only called her a mudblood to see if it would still faze her. Her blood was the same deep red as his, the same since that day in the Drawing Room at Malfoy Manor.

He knelt down at her side careful not to touch her; afraid he would hurt her again. He put his arms around her waist lifting her up and then held her head up by the neck. There was a giant wound in the back of her head. The wound itself was surrounded by dirt from the wall and the ground. It was gushing blood, all of it running down his shaking fingers. Her face was pale and if he didn't get her some care soon she would die of blood loss. He carefully lifts her into his arms before standing upright. He picked up her wand and his own, before vanishing the pool of blood on the ground and apparating to his home.

**(A\N: Sorry it's so short! I haven't had a lot of time lately so hopefully the next chapter will be to your liking. Review if you want. Thanks again!)**


	5. A Guilty Monster

**(A\N: Geez! Sorry its been so long! My laptop stopped working and I didn't have time to work on it. But I definitely will now. This is a bit of a longer chapter so I hope you like it. :D)**

When Draco carried Hermione into his cottage, the only thing he kept thinking was how much a bastard he truly was.

_MONSTER. _His mind screamed; over and over again louder and louder than before. Draco rarely ever felt guilty for his actions. But this, this made him feel like the worst human being on earth. He seems to hurt everyone around him. His friends, collages, peers, but mostly women. Draco sighed, his mind finally relaxing as he came to the realization that, what his mind screamed was true.

He was indeed, a monster.

He pushed the thoughts aside, tuning more into what was happening in reality compared to his mind. He placed Hermione gently on the couch in the foyer, going to his study to get supplies to mend the wound on her head. His home was decorated beautifully, but nothing of to high extravagance like he was used to at the Manor. The walls were a dark green with black borders around the ceiling and floor. The window panes were also black, and the windows themselves were tall and slim with an arc at the top. Draco could sit and stare into the woods and the beautiful sky if he wanted to for the rest of his life; the scene it made was so picture perfect. All the furniture was a dark green with intricate silver lacings. The floors were a dark mahogany wood; so dark it looked neared black.

Draco had trained with Severus Snape as a potions trainee, during the war, before he was killed. Draco had never known his godfather was a turncoat, or the fact that he had fallen for a muggle-born at such a young age. So, because Snape had trained him theses things in case of an emergency, he knew how to fix a Blood Replenishing potion and he knew the simple healing charm to close the wound completely, making sure there was no scar. He had also brought a cloth and warm water to clean the blood. He knew he could just use a quick cleaning charm, but he wanted to show her when she woke that he really didn't have any intention on hurting her.

Draco didn't understand why he wanted to prove himself to her. He was a _Malfoy_ of Merlin's sake. He didn't have to prove to anyone if he didn't want to. But then he thought, maybe it was because he had harmed her in such a way that it would be difficult for her to forgive him, and not turn him in. Maybe it was the fact that he was getting to old to be playing these silly name calling games anymore, whether he only be 21 or not. He just felt so _guilty_.

Draco never used to show emotions. Hell, he could have been mistaken for a carved face of a statue, his face always used to be so impassive, except for his famous smirk. He thinks it was the war that finally cracked him. It was until he could no longer handle taking innocent lives of woman and children, both wizard and muggle alike. They were still human. Still living and breathing, with hopes and dreams, just like anyone else. There was one particular family that he has nightmares about more than anyone else. He remembers it in detail:

_A muggle woman was walking along a quiet street pushing a stroller with her one year old son, sleeping soundly. Draco's heart clenched painfully, because he knew the fate at which this woman and child were awaiting at home._

_Draco, Theodore Nott, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, and Blaise Zabini had all recently been at this woman's home, having some 'fun' as the oafs called it. Honestly Draco and Blaise didn't have a particular liking to watching someone being tortured and killed slowly. They would rather not kill the person if possible, and only kill if need be. But Lucius and Bellatrix had all told the boys to go out and have a good time one Friday night. To Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle, 'fun', of course, meant killing. _

_The boy's had arrived at a small town a few miles away from London. They walked around under Disillusionment Charms looking for the perfect victim. Finally, they came to a small cul-de-sac that had a curve of plain white houses with moderately done gardens on the front lawn. A man was getting out or that metal contraction muggles used for transportation (he couldn't remember what they were called to save his life). _

_The man looked to be in his early twenties. He had dark brown hair and was about 6'0 it seemed from a distance. _

"_Hell, yeah, he'll be a perfect target." Crabbe says gruffly._

_Draco never understood where the Vincent from school and childhood had gone so fast. Before, all he used to care about was food, making money, and terrifying first years. Now all he wanted to do was murder innocent people. _(Karma must really be a bitch, considering the way he was killed.)

_They started crossing the street, towards the house the man had entered only seconds before. Draco's heart had raced, he thought about who he could be hurting besides this man. Did he have a family? A wife? A child? Maybe he didn't know._

_They entered silently through the back yard, and crept up to the glass back door. It was partly open and you could here the man speaking to some one._

"_Nice," Goyle commented with a sly grin, "More than one kill, in one night"_

_I looked into the home and saw no one else but the man seemed to be speaking to on of those things muggles used to communicate. A phone he thought it was called._

"_Shut up, Greg." I hissed. "He's on that thing called a phone. There's no one else in the house."_

"_Oh, damn. I really shouldn't have gotten my hopes up." Crabbe says sadly._

_Theo nods agreeing with them. Blaise and I share a look. _

"…_yes dear…Yes, I know love…No, I don't think she called…Oh, alright then. I take it you and Junior are on your way home?...Oh, alright good. It's getting late…" the man then chuckles, "Yes, Sandra I know you are not defenseless, I am merrily saying I want to _**see**_ my wife and son after so long." He smiles at the phone, and starts to exit the room going up the stairs._

"_So he _does _have a family." Theo says with a sneer. "I say we go after the wife and kid after we kill him."_

"_Agreed." Crabbe and Goyle answer together._

"_We said one kill." Draco reasoned._

"_Are you a pussy now Draco?" Goyle taunted._

"_No, you incompetent shit for brains. I'm just saying that if we kill the whole damn family, it will look suspicious. The Order could find out and trace us."_

_Goyle glares at him but stays silent, finally understanding the consequences may be drastic if things go too far._

"_I think we can risk it." Theo says grudgingly. "I want to see something tonight and I'd rather watch the pretty little wife be tortured instead of her husband."_

"_Yeah, we could always just cover up all the evidence."_

"_Yeah."_

"_Alright, fine. But, if we get caught or traced I'm blaming you three."_

Draco was pulled out of his memories suddenly sensing movement in another room. He hardly ever had visitors and when he did it was usually Blaise and he never came in without knocking first. He looked down at Hermione to make sure she was still unconscious. She was as pale as a sheet, but her breathing was steady so it seemed fine to leave her side for a second to investigate. He felt so guilty for being the cause of all this, but he knew what was done is done. But why should he care anyway? She spilt her coffee on him and stormed away like a mad woman from hell. But then his monster took over and he hurt her; badly. _Damn Granger and her coffee, _he thought angrily, _we wouldn't be in this mess if she hadn't done that._

With these thoughts, he grabbed his wand from the coffee table and approached the other door.

**(A\N: Well that's it for now! There's more to come so just bear with me. Leave a review they sure do make a writer feel good . Thanks again for reading and if you have any questions just leave them in a review or in a PM.)**


	6. You Bastard

**(A/N: Hey guys! So sorry it's been a while! I just recently moved cross country so things have been super busy with the move itself, a new school, ect. Plus not having a computer to upload on is a problem too -_- Anyway on with the story! :) )**

With so many thoughts running through his head, Draco walking into the spare bedroom not realizing that he had left the window open before he left. Sighing, he walked back into the main room were Hermione lay unconscious and pale. He was nervously awaiting her reaction to him when she awoke. He doubted she would cry and scream and run away just like all the others; she was too hard headed and mature to act like a sniveling ninny. He sat on his favorite black leather recliner with silver snakes around its edges, trying to get comfortable and relax. But he couldn't. _What if she goes to Potter? _He thought. _What if she goes to the MINISTRY?! Ah shit. I'm screwed. _

As Draco sank further into his chair, sulking about the consequences to come, Hermione was beginning to regain consciousness. Her head pounded and she inwardly groaned. _What happened? _ She asked herself. She wanted to open her eyes and survey her surroundings, but her skull-splitting headache told her that wasn't a wise move. But, being a curious and nosy child since birth, she needed to know why she couldn't remember what happened and where she was.

She slowly opened her eyes and wasn't surprised when she saw there was no light on. Had she been kidnapped? Where was she? How did she get there? Question after question ran through her head, causing her headache to become worse than it already was. She groaned at the pain pressing at her brain causing all her thoughts to scatter. She carefully lifted a hand to her forehead and rubbed the spot that hurt the most.

Draco watched her as she slowly awoke, groaned, and raised a hand to her head. He could see the pain across her face and immediately felt a pang to the heart. He had to stop being a coward. He would tell her he was sorry and she would forgive him like all the others.

"Hermione." He said bravely.

She froze. She knew that voice. It was horribly familiar. _Oh no. Malfoy. _Then everything came rushing back; the incident in to coffee shop, his hurtful words, her stamping his foot and pouring coffee on him; and the incident in the alley. No wonder her head hurt!

"Listen, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it, really-"

He was close now but she didn't want him to touch her again. She jumped up swaying in the process and was nearly nose to nose with the blonde. She stepped back and _**WHACK. **_She hit him square in the jaw.

"You bastard!"

**(A/N: Sorry it's so short! Please leave a review, I don't get many and I want some feedback from you guys! Sorry for any mistakes.)**


	7. Same Mistakes

**(A/N: Faster updates! xD I'm glad you guys are enjoying it so far, and give me some more feedback! It sure helps me to be more motivated and inspired :) Anyway, on with the story!)**

Draco held his throbbing cheek, beginning to feel the anger bubbling back up inside him once again. Hermione stood there fuming just as much. They glared at each other for nearly a minute when- _**SMACK.**_

"And that, is for insulting me."

Draco stood there, still as a statue. Rage bubbled up in every inch of his body. It spread all through his veins and clogged his mind, making him unable to think reasonably. Both his cheeks were a bright red compared to his usually pale skin. Every thought cleared his mind, and all he wanted to do was hurt the woman in front of him.

"How dare you! I can't believe you! I knew always knew you were a bad person, but _attack_ me!? I should report you to Harry! You sick god damn bastard! Look what you did! I saw all the blood! _My blood! _I'm going straight to the Ministry and-"

She must have looked in his eyes, seeing the fury and the coldest look she'd ever received. A look that clearly said 'Shut up or I _will _kill you.' She kept her eyes locked with his for another few seconds but turned away, unable to look into someone's eyes and see pure hatred and anger. She grew fearful now. Her heart started to pound and her head still really hurt. On the outside, Malfoy's body language looked calm and composed. But through his eyes, he was a man who was on edge. Ready to strike if there was one wrong move.

He slowly began to move forward, as if stalking her as prey. He leaned into a crouch; his eyes alight, completely set on her with a murderous glint in his eye.

"One wrong move Granger, and you'll regret it." He said with a sneer that clashed horribly with is beautiful features.

"I highly doubt that ferret." She said with as much strength as she could muster. With him stalking towards her, her confidence was dwindling.

"I dunno Granger. You look pretty scared to me." He gave her an evil smirk.

She snorted in a very unladylike way, but she was merely stalling. She didn't want to know what would happen if she _did _make that wrong move.

But it seems like the punch and slap put together were enough. Suddenly, he lunged. He grabbed her by the neck and slammed her against the wall, just like in the alley.

Hermione saw stars. Tears welled up in her eyes from hitting her freshly healed head. She had to gasp to keep breathing because he was holding her by the neck so tightly.

"Now, mudblood bitch, listen to me. What did I tell you? Are you regretting this all now? I told you what would happen and you _didn't listen." _

He threw her to the ground and she whimpered as she landed with a loud _thud_. The tears spilled down her cheeks. She was so scared. Was this how it was going to end? Being killed by her childhood bully? She had survived a war for Merlin's sake. But, she had her wand to protect her then. She didn't have her wand now. And she highly doubted she could overpower a man who was 6'3 and as ripped as he.

Draco's thoughts and sense were slowly coming back to him. But as the monster was still in control of his mind, a fresh wave of rage overcame him. Remembering the most recent slap, he glared down at her, and swiftly kicked her in the ribs.

_...What if he rapes me? What if he kills me slowly? Will he use an Unforgivable? Will he- _A sharp searing pain knocked the wind completely out of her, making her gasp for air. Her thoughts scattered and she started to panic.

"Please, please, don't hurt me! I'm sorry. I won't tell anyone! I'll keep it to myself, just p-please, don't kill me!" She sobbed brokenly in fear of her life.

Draco's mind slowly unclogged as her listened to her pleas and watched the tears flow down her pink cheeks. He slowly realized he'd done it again. And it was even worse than the first. _No. Merlin, no. I can't believe this! _He stared down at her. He stared at the sobs wracking her body, the way she gasped for breath, and the way her little hands cradled where he had kicked her. He got down onto his knees beside her, and she started to panic even more.

"No! Please! I-I won't tell anyone! I promise! Just don't hurt me, p-please!" She pleads.

"Relax," he told her gently, "I won't hurt you again, I promise."

She looked at him skeptically, holding his gaze trying to see if he was lying to her so he could take advantage. But his eyes told the truth. Gone was the anger and murderous glint. Now a pain filled pleading look replaced it.

"I won't. Swear to Merlin." He said quietly.

She stared at him a few more seconds, and nodded. He felt utterly relieved. Then she slowly started to sit up, but the pain in her side caused her to yelp. The pain told her she would have a bruise. She wiped her tears away refusing to keep crying over it. She moved again but, gently, two arms wrapped around her. One arm supporting her neck and shoulder, and one hooked under her knees. She started to move away and protest. She understood he wouldn't hurt her again, but that didn't mean she wanted him to touch her.

"No, I can-"

"Trust me Hermione. I won't hurt you ever again. I'm just going to take you to the spare room and give you something for your head, for the pain, and so you can sleep."

Again she nodded. She was too weak to argue. And her mind seemed to be elsewhere.

He gently lifted her from the ground and carried her to a beautiful room. It was filled with beautiful dark wood furniture and a huge 4 poster bed. The walls were painted in swirls of green and white, giving it an earthy glow. He lay her down on the bed and walked into what she guessed was the bathroom. He came back and had three different vials in his hand. The content colour of each vial was a blood red, (for the pain) a midnight blue, (for sleep) and a bubblegum pink (for her headache). He handed her the red and she drank it grimacing at the bitter taste. Then the same with the pink.

He went to hand her the blue vial, but she stopped him. She looked into his eyes and searched for something. Anything that could tell her why he was so violent. What had happened to him that made him this way? In his eyes, she saw a dead blankness. He looked as if a dementor had suddenly entered the room and sucked out every happy feeling he had. But then she saw it, a brief flash of pain and horror and pure guilt. Then she understood. And now that she did, she couldn't help but trust him. She wasn't afraid now.

"Sleep." He said. "I'll explain to you why when you wake up." His voice was hollow.

He nudged her arm, and handed her the vial. With one last look at him, she drank and sank into the pillows quickly falling asleep thinking of dead grey eyes.

**(A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! :) I know it was similar to the fight in the alley and café, but I know where I'm going with it for now so just bear with me xD Please review! I want to know what you guys think :) )**


	8. Doubts

**(A\N: I'm sooo sorry guys! :( I've been meaning to update, honestly, I've just been so busy lately! I hope this chapter makes up for it :) Please review!)**

Draco watched Hermione finally fall asleep. He waited a few seconds and slowly left the room, closing the large wooden door behind him.

This had gotten so out of control. Never in his life had he been so _violent_. That was the monster raging. That was the part of his brain that wanted nothing more than to hurt a woman who didn't deserve it. And he resented his father for this trait. He had watched his father since childhood hit and abuse his mother, force himself on his mother, and when he didn't get what he wanted, he got it from someone else.

Draco went into his kitchen to get himself a drink. After grabbing a Firewhiskey and a glass, he sank into his couch. His mind was in overload as he thought about how easily she had trusted him to let him pick her up and carry her to his room; or how she willingly drank his potions without hesitation. These things were usually avoided by someone who had beat the shit out of you, took you to there home, tended to your wounds, and then beat the shit out of you _again_, and then tended to you _again_.

Since Draco was so wrapped up in his thoughts, he hadn't realized there was a knocking at his front door. He slowly got up to open it. It could only be one person, someone he would trust his life with, someone he could tell about Granger and not get judged. He opened the door; there stood Blaise Zabini. Although he and Draco had been best friends since they were in nappies, they couldn't be more different. Where as Draco was pale skinned and blonde and grey eyed, Blaise was dark skinned with dark hair and dark eyes. Both were tall and muscular though.

"Blaise." He greeted wearily.

"Drake, man. You look like shit." That was Blaises' way of concern.

"I bet I do." Draco replied. He moved out of the door way so Blaise could come in, and then went back to the kitchen for another glass. When he came back, he found his best friend staring down at the blood on the floor and the bandages.

Blaise looked up at him question evident in his eyes. He then cocked an eyebrow and said; "Care to explain, mate?"

Draco sighed and gestured to the couch. It was going to be a long story. They both sat and before Draco could open his mouth Blaise said; "You didn't kill anyone did you?"

Draco scoffed. "Of course I didn't you arsehole. But…" He trailed off, wondering how to approach the subject of Hermione Granger lying in his bed in the other room.

"Then what happened?" Blaise asked, honestly curious.

Draco hesitated at first, but finally replied; "HermioneGranger'sinmybed."

Blaise snorted, "You were mumbling you git." He said with a grin. Leave it to Blaise to turn it into a joke. "Come again?"

Draco scowled at him and said more clearly, "Hermione Granger's in my bed."

It was Draco's turn to smirk at his friend. Blaises' jaw had dropped and his eyes bugged in disbelief. Draco leaned back and watched his friend splutter as he took a gulp of his Firewhiskey letting it burn down his throat.

"Y-you and w-what?! You never bloody tell me anything anymore!" He said as he swung a fist at Draco's arm.

Draco dodged him and snorted. "Not like that you moron. Something…happened." Draco had gotten uncomfortable then. He'd have to tell Blaise that he had attacked Granger.

"What do you mean 'happened?'?" Blaise asked confusion marring his brow.

Draco swished his drink around in his cup, evidently stalling. He didn't want to tell Blaise he and beaten up the war heroin Hermione Granger.

"Drake." Blaise said seriously.

"Alright." Draco caved. "This morning I went to that muggle coffee shop your sister told me about the other day, and I ran into Granger. You know how we always were. We had a spat and she spilt coffee on me. She stormed out, I got pissed, followed her down a alley then the next thing I knew she was lying on the ground, her head was bleeding and she was crying." Towards the end Draco flinched thinking of the memory, but he continued. "I brought her back here, fixed her head and watched her. When she woke up she was pissed so she hit me -twice- and then I blow it again. I hurt her even worse and so I helped her again. I gave her a pain potion and blood replenishing potion, and a sleeping potion, and now she's asleep in my bed." He finished lamely.

Blaise hadn't said a word through Draco's explanation, and thoroughly listened to what happen happened. They sat there for a few minutes going over everything; Draco going over his what Blaise would say, and Blaise on how he would reply to Draco.

"Well, mate, if she let you help her I'd say you were off the hook."

Behind them there was a snort.

"I highly doubt that, Zabini."


	9. No Idea

**(AN: Another chapter! xD From here the story and plot are really going to progress so I hope you all enjoy! :D Please review and favorite! :D)**

Hermione had been listening to their conversation for sometime. She had awoken to the sound of consistent knocking. She had lay in the bed trying to gather her thoughts, and when she was ready to face Malfoy she got up to go and find him.  
>"…she hit me -twice- and then I blew it again. I hurt her even worse and so I helped her again. I gave her a pain potion and blood replenishing potion, and a sleeping potion, and now she's asleep in my bed." His eyes were still dead looking, and she felt bad for him. It was in her nature to care for everyone no matter what they had done.<br>Hermione turned her head to see who he was speaking to. It seemed to be Blaise Zabini. He had grown up a lot since school. He was taller and more muscular, and didn't seem to be as lanky and awkward. _Just as good looking though_, Hermione thought. She inwardly sighed. She was stuck in a house with two Slytherins; one being the boy who bullied her all throughout school, and was the cause of every insecurity she had, and the other she had barely ever spoken too.  
>She heard Zabini begin to speak; "Well, mate, if she let you help her I'd say you were off the hook."<br>Hermione snorted, finally showing her presence. "I highly doubt that, Zabini."  
>Both boys turned around at the sound of her voice. Their expressions were completely different. Blaise seemed to look amused and Draco couldn't even meet her eyes.<br>"Well, good evening sleeping beauty, how lovely of you to join us." Blaise said sarcastically a smirk marring his dark features.  
>Hermione rolled her eyes at him and turned to Draco. "I'm awake now, I want some answers."<br>Finally he looked up at her. Their eyes met and Hermione could see the pain in them. He truly regretted what he did. Anyone would see that. And the fact that he took her to his home to care for her wounds and _only _her wounds made it even clearer. Draco gestured to the sofa seat between him and Blaise and Hermione eyed it wearily.  
>"Don't worry, Granger." Blaise said with a wolfish grin, "We won't bite…yet."<br>Hermione looked between them and made a decision. If they were going to hurt her again they would have done it sooner. She walked over to the middle seat and sat down stiffly between the two.  
>Blaise rolled his eyes; "We're not going to kill you, Granger."<br>Hermione and Draco both winced and that seemed to shut Zabini up.  
>She turned to Draco; "Well?"<br>He was staring into his glass, his eyes unfocused and dull, but he began; "I really didn't meant to hurt you." He choked on the end of his sentence, his eyes turning red.  
>He took a deep breathe and continued. "You really pissed me off, and ever since I'd gotten out of house arrest I've had an even worse temper than before. At even the most ridiculous bloody things I blow up. And that's what happened." he finished lamely.<br>Draco looked up at Hermione and saw that her eyes had softened and she too was choked up.  
>"Okay." Hermione said quietly.<br>"Okay?" Draco said confused.  
>Hermione nodded; "You didn't mean it. I understand that now. And you don't deserve to go to Azkaban. It just wouldn't be fair when I know you truly regretted your actions."<br>On her other side, Hermione heard Blaise chuckle. "Told you you were off the hook mate."  
>Hermione turned to him, eyes narrowed. "I never said that, Zabini."<br>She turned back to Malfoy, "You have to volunteer at my bookshop for the next month. I'm low on workers and I need all the money I can get to keep the place going. You'll work 8 hour days Monday through Thursday and on Saturday. No pay and bring you own lunch." She said firmly.  
>Draco nodded, not bothering to fight. "Alright."<br>"Now," Hermione said formally, "Where are my things? I'd like to go home."  
>Draco got her things from the bedroom and handed them to her.<br>"Thank you." He said with sincerity.  
>She looked at him fiercely and said; "Don't expect so much leeway next time Malfoy. If I see you so much as put one toe out of line, your world will go to shit as you know it." With that she turned away, walked out the door and apparated away. Draco stood there thinking about how his life had already gone to shit.<p>

_You have no idea, Granger._


	10. Catching Up

**(A\N: Yay! This story is finally hitting double digits! xD I'm excited to move into it a bit more and I hope you guys enjoy it :D Pleaseee review! xD I know I'm needy but I just love hearing all the positive feedback :) )**

Hermione apparated to the parking lot behind her flat building extremely tired from her traumatic day. She walked towards her building in a daze, completely unaware of her surroundings. She couldn't believe what she'd just done. She let Draco _sodding_ Malfoy to get away with beating the complete shit out of her.

She groaned out loud, completely conflicted. She knew what she'd done was the right thing to do. Turning him in would have made things so much worse and she could tell from that terrible deadness in his eyes that his apology was sincere. But, it still didn't mean that he should have as stupid a consequence as the one she gave him. It was too late to turn back. And there wasn't really anything Hermione could think of to give him as a punishment.

Hermione climbed the stairs to her flat on the third floor and took her keys out from her bag. She reached her door and was surprised to find it slightly ajar. Her heart started racing and her mind went into overdrive. _Oh no. How could this have happened? No muggle could have gotten past my wards, so it must have been a wizard. _She got herself together and slowly straightened while taking her wand out of her pocket. She held it firmly in front of her ready to strike.

She slowly entered her flat. All the lights were off, and she didn't dare light her wand, afraid it would give away her presence. As her eyes adjusted, she saw nothing was destroyed or out of place, but when she turned towards the opening arch of her kitchen she saw a silhouette of a person through the moonlight shining in the kitchen window. And guessing from the broad shoulders and height of it, it was a man.

_Thank Merlin I have a wand,_ Hermione thought. She lightly put down her purse on the coffee table, and walked as silently as she could to the kitchen. When so got there she peered around it and was surprised at what she saw. Ronald Weasley was sitting at her small kitchen table, a glass in his hand. She looked to see if there was a bottle of Firewhiskey or other type of alcohol, but there wasn't and he looked perfectly sober.

"You can put that away now." He said deeply. Hermione wasn't surprised that he knew she was there. He had become much more aware since the war and all his Auror training.

"What are you doing here, Ron?" she asked a slightly confused tone in her voice.

He shrugged. "Been missing everything, I guess…I dunno. Harry and I haven't talked much lately. He and Gin are too busy with the kids. Mum and Dad are away in American to see her cousin Maribel, and, well, I've just been missing it." He finished lamely. He looked up at her and his eyes widened. "Blimey, Hermione! What the bloody hell happened to your face?"

Hermione inwardly cringed. _Damn, the bruises. _She gave out a humorless laugh. "If I told you, you wouldn't believe me." It was true, but she was just trying to buy time to think of a lie good enough for him to believe.

He raised a ginger eyebrow skeptically at her; "Oh, really?"

She rolled her eyes; "Alright, fine," she huffed, playing the part of innocence well. "I was in the shop today on one of the rickety ladders – you know, the one in the back that I keep having to repair?" He nodded. "Well, I was putting some books on the top shelf when it broke underneath me. I fell and hit my head and back on the nearest bookshelf, and the top part of the ladder fell on my face." She finished, pointing to her bruised eye and cut lip.

She waited anxiously to see if he bought it. He did. "Merlin, Hermione, you could have been killed! Why don't you just buy new bloody ladders? It's not like you can't afford too."

She rolled her eyes at him and turned on the lights. She squinted at him as she adjusted, and said; "I know, Ron. I was thinking about it even before I had the fall." She walked to the stove to give the kettle and went to the sink to get water. When she had the kettle placed on the stove, she went and sat next to Ron.

He smiled at her and she smiled back. It was like old times when they were never together and things weren't complicated. They began to talk about everything and anything going on in their lives, catching up. They talked about work and family, all their adventures, and most recent things.

Finally, when it reached twelve thirty, they decided to call it a night.

"Goodnight Hermione." He grinned at her as we walked out the front door.

"Goodnight Ron." She called back. She closed the door and went back to the kitchen, cleaning up their mugs. Although her back and head were aching all throughout her chat with Ron, she couldn't bring herself to ask him to leave. She missed having her best friends in her life just as much as he did.

She shut off the light to the kitchen and walked to her room. Her room had light purple colored walls and dark purple bed sheets. On her bedside table there was a most recent picture of her Harry and Ron, and her, her mother and father.

She shed her clothes and went into the bathroom for a much needed shower. The warm water relaxed her stiff body and she felt much better when she got out. She looked in the mirror at the bruises along her face and put on a special cream to help get rid of them. Then she went into her room, put on her pajamas and got into bed falling asleep almost instantly, her mind finally settling, pushing away reality and into her dreams.


	11. Pain

(A/N: Hi guys! FINALLY a new chapter. I know I'm really bad and it's been MONTHS since I've updated and I'm really really sorry. BUT the good news is that I'll be entering _**Hello Mudblood**_ in the Watty Awards on Wattpad for best fanfic! So the latest I can have it submitted is November 6th. SO with that being said, there should be a new chapter, maybe even 2, every night! :D I'd like to finish the story by then and have it end with at least 30 chapters. Think I can do it? :D Lol anyway, I hope you enjoy the story, please, leave me some feedback!)

Hermione woke up the next morning with a crick in her neck. Her whole body ached and the pounding in her head had only increased since yesterday. She groaned, slowly rising into a sitting positive in her bed.  
>She tested out her weak muscles by raising her arms over her head and stretching. She winced, feeling all the pain in her muscles expand and relax slightly.<br>She jumped down from her bed and headed to the bathroom getting ready to start the day. While she walked, Crookshanks wove in and out of her legs and glanced up at her with sympathetic eyes. She sighed leaning down to scratch behind his ears. "You understand far too much for your own good Crookshanks." He meowed and pranced away from her to go to his bed.  
>Hermione went into the bathroom to asses her features and see what kind of damage she would have to put a concealing charm over before she could heal it. She gasped loudly when she looked at her reflection in the mirror, only to see her normal, unblemished face staring back at her. There were no bruises and no dried blood like she had figured there might be. But then as she thought about it, when she had sat up talking with Ron last night and he had asked about the bruises, she had lied to him and told him that she had fallen off of one of the rickety ladders at her shop and a piece had fallen on her face. She was positive the bruises were there last night.<br>_It could have been one of those potions Malfoy gave me last night, _she thought, _it may have just needed some time to take the full affect._  
>It must have only been a potion to conceal the internal wounds and not fully restore her back to heath, which explained her still sore body.<br>She turned away from the mirror and shed her clothes before starting up the shower and getting in. She stayed under the water for nearly 20 minutes thinking about all of the events from the day before.  
>Everything had happened so quickly, it was hard for her to process everything even the day after. She couldn't believe herself for letting Malfoy off so easy. She could have called straight for the Harry and Malfoy would have been arrest before you could say Quidditch.<br>But she knew in her heart it wasn't the right thing to do. She could tell there was obviously something wrong with Malfoy at this point. She thought it to be anger issues but she had yet to really understand the underlying reasons behind Malfoy's very sudden violence.  
>Although some of her decisions on what his "punishment" should be, may not be very beneficial to her. What was she thinking? Why couldn't she think of something else rather than having him work at her bookstore? Now she'd have to deal with him every day. She can only imagine what may happen when they're alone at the store and she somehow angers him.<br>Finally she gets out of the shower, dresses and pulls her hair up before deciding to make a huge cup of coffee. As she's pouring in milk and sugar, her mind begins to drift again to what could possibly make Malfoy so violent. It could have something to do with his childhood, maybe his father was abusive and the pain was residual so he too took it out on the people around him? It could maybe be anger from the way that his life went and how he screwed himself?  
>There were so many possibilities running through her mind and each one seems plausible, but finding out which one is true would be a quest she may have to attempt.<br>She had finished her coffee now and she knew now she was merely stalling from going to work by slowly washing and putting away her mug and walking around her house making sure everything was tidy. It was Sunday and Malfoy didn't start until tomorrow but she didn't want to go to the shop and have to face her employees and tell them Draco Malfoy would be joining their staff. There was far too much on her plate right now and she didn't want to deal with the arguments she surely would receive about her decision.  
>Tired of putting things off, she decided to send Harry and Ginny an owl to check up and see how they and James were doing. Ginny's about 6 months pregnant and didn't leave the house much. Hermione reminded herself to make sure and go out to lunch with Ginny soon.<br>_Harry, Ginny, and baby James,_  
><em> I hope you're all doing well. It's been forever since we've talked. Remind me to buy you all a mobile so we can keep in touch more often. <em>  
><em> Things at the shop are doing well. New books sales have been off the wall because so many interesting new novels have been released. I read one recently that was an autobiography of a werewolf living during the 1600s. The times were quite different and the Wolfsbane potion had yet to be invented. So each entry he made after a full moon was very… descriptive.<em>  
><em> Oh and some lovely children's books came in too. I'll send you some to put in the nursery. Some adventure books came in that I think James will love.<em>  
><em>Hope to see you soon,<em>  
><em> Love from,<em>  
><em> Hermione<em>  
>She sealed the letter and put it on her coffee table so she could bring it an owlery to be delivered. She decided she could wait no longer. Things had to be done and she didn't want to have to face her employees when Malfoy was actually there tomorrow. She'd rather they know he was coming beforehand. She went to her room and slipped on her trainers with a heavy sigh and grabbed her bag and coat from its hanger before scooping up her letter and grabbing her umbrella and heading out the door.<p> 


	12. Closed

**(A/N: Another chapter, as promised :D)**

Hermione walked lazily down Diagon Alley taking her time as she walked to her cozy bookshop. She passed all the busy stores and smiled to herself.

She was ecstatic that Diagon Alley was again bursting with life. She was worried that after the war things would never be the same. But that didn't seem to be the case at all. The Wizarding world seemed to be bursting with life and everyone had a new found perspective at how others were treated. All prejudice was nearly gone and people couldn't be happier that the Dark Lord was gone and will finally never return.

The sounds of laughter and excitement gave her more of a skip in her step and helped her to think positively about telling her employees about Malfoy. Before she knew it, she reached the cross section where her store sat on its busy corner.

She pushed open the front entrance and the open sign flapped happily and a bell sounded above her. The smell of new books mixed with ancient books mixed together and gave the store a homey feeling.

It was noon now and the store usually opened at 10 on Sundays. Slouched over the cashier counter stood a girl named Anna; her blonde hair framed her face and her blue eyes were wide and bright as she focused on the large novel in her hands. Hermione hired her because she had almost a big a love for books as herself. Almost. She was originally from America but she moved to London for "a change of scenery." Hermione didn't need to worry about Anna much because she'd never had anything to do with the Malfoy family, nor had she ever even heard of them. The Malfoy name was shamed now and was never brought into discussion nowadays.

Hermione hung up her coat and walked to set her purse in the back, when she took another sweep across the room.

Anthony, a very gorgeous wizard from Spain, was stacking books onto a top shelf while lightly humming to himself.

Meredith, and elderly witch from Scotland, was in the children's section getting ready to give a scheduled reading to all the children who dragged their parents to bring them here every Sunday at 3.

Her last employee, Joey, was in the beverage area of the shop. She had a little stand that sold coffee and tea for the adults and hot chocolate and juice for kids. Joey was going to be the most difficult to convince for he had a very personal and very… reasonable excuse for hating the Malfoy's.

Joey's father was an Auror and was killed by Lucius Malfoy himself during the chaos of the war at Hogwarts. He was one of the many murders that landed Lucius a lifetime in Azkaban.

Joey now had made it his own personal vengeance to avenge his father by targeting the Senior Malfoy's son. The thing with Joey was though that he didn't have the nerve to do anything. He wasn't fearful per say, but it seemed that his conscience tended to get the best of him because he had never actually done anything to harm the younger Malfoy.

She figured though, that if Joey had to spend a large amount of time with Malfoy (exactly a month), then he may just reach his breaking point and do something irrational.

Hermione sighed heavily walking towards the counter to put down her things and call a staff meeting. She set down her things under the desk that held the cash register, making Anna jump.

When she spotted Hermione she glanced sheepishly at her while her cheeks reddened in embarrassment for being caught not doing anything on the job.

"Morning, Hermione."Anna said cheerfully.

"Good morning, Anna." Hermione smiled.

"How was your Saturday?"

"Oh, you know, the usual."

Hermione turned away and looked at the floor as she spoke, trying desperately hard not to look guilty for lying to Anna.

"That's cool."

She didn't notice.

Hermione nodded and proceeded to the back to sort out some new book arrivals. Anthony had followed her in and smiled brightly at her as he began to take the new books and load them on the shelves.

"Buenos días, señorita." He greeted with a pearly white smile.

"Good morning to you too, Tony." Hermione grinned at him. She had learned so much Spanish since she hired him. And she had not only learned the language, but he had told her many customs of his country and Hermione was fascinated.

As Tony walked away to put the books up, Hermione sighed knowing she couldn't put off telling them all any longer.

She walked back into the shopping part of the store and decided it was time. There was no one in the shop, and there most likely wouldn't be until 1 when all the children and their parents came. She walked to the door and flipped the _Open_ sign to _Closed_.


	13. It Will Be Fine

**(A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the huge wait once again :/ school has been really hectic for me and I haven't had time to write. I am positive I will finish this story soon because it's been so long since I started it and it's only on chapter 13. Anyway, forgive me for being such a late author! Hope you enjoy :D)**

Hermione walked away from the door and took a deep breath.

She called to all her employees; "Can I have everyone's attention please?"

All four head raised and looked at her giving her questioning expression.

Hermione cleared her throat, she was beginning to get very nervous about their reactions.

She gestured to the sitting area in the middle of the shop and waiting for them all to take a seat on the chairs before she began.

Joey looked worriedly at her, "Is everything alright, Hermione?"

She nodded her head far too quickly and didn't look him in the eye. She took another deep breath before she began.

"We will be having another employee here for the next month," she said shakily, "and I expect that you treat him with respect whether you want to or not."

By the end of her sentence her voice had picked up strength. This was her shop and she could do as she pleased. They were her employees and either they listened and did as she asked or they left, it would be their choice.

Meredith spoke up with excitement, "Why, Hermione, dear, that's just lovely! We could always use so more hands around here. Thing have been very busy lately." She smiled gently at Hermione and gave her an encouraging nod.

Hermione smiled brightly at her and continued.

"He'll only be here a month. He's paying me a debt and will be working full hours starting Monday."

Anna spoke up brightly, "This is awesome! It's always fun getting to work with someone new."

Tony nodded along in agreement, with a smile on his face.

"Sí. I think it will be maravílloso to have someone new."

Everyone began talking at once saying how it's going to be fun having someone new. Hermione couldn't help but grin widely. She was happy they were excited and defiant about it like she had imagined.

Suddenly all their happiness was interrupted.

"Wait, you didn't tell us who he is?"  
>Joey looked at Hermione with an eyebrow raised.<p>

Hermione stumbled and looked away from him. She knew that he would not take it well. She just hoped he would not be rash and walk out.

Hermione raised her head and look Joey in the eye.

"His name is Draco Malfoy."

The room went quiet and the air turned thick with tension. Hermione watched as Joey's jaw tightened in anger and a vein in his neck started to pulsate.

With a clenched jaw he asked again, "Who?"

Hermione sighed, she knew what was coming. She'd expected this but hoped it wouldn't be this way.

"Joey, I know you heard me. And as I already said, it's for a debt and he won't be here long."

Joey's pale face turned red with fury and he rose to his feet in a flash and crossed his arms over his chest.

"How could you let him in here Hermione?! After everything he put you through as a kid, after all the madness his family contributed to in the bloody war, _why? _How could you be so stu-"

"I won't be spoken to that way Joey! I know what he has done. But after all those years with see my friends, my _family, _die I believe in giving someone a second chance to show maybe they do have some good in them. And you need to throw away your grudge and _move on._"

Both angry and breathing heavily, Joey and Hermione stared at the other challengingly. But Joey look away breaking eye contact and uncrossed his arms and let them hang limply by his sides. He nodded at Hermione.

"I'm sorry I said those things Hermione it's just still so hard for me."

Anna rose from her seat and walked over to Joey and gave him a hug.

"Lighten up, Joe. Sometimes it's better to forgive and move on and celebrate your loved ones life rather than stay cold in the darkness of their death."

Anna's words shook everyone in the room, she always knew exactly what to say.

Joey smiled slightly and nodded at her. Tony rose from his seat and clapped Joey on the back.

"Don't worry mi amigo, it will be fine."

Meredith smiled at Hermione and went and took Joey's hand and led him back towards the children's section.

"Come dear, help me seat up for when the children arrive."

Hermione let out a shaky breath and ran her fingers through her hair. Now she had to finish getting through today and wait for tomorrow.


	14. Shattered

**(A/N: Next chapter is finally up! Enjoy!)**

The rest of the day went by smoothly and at 6 that evening Hermione closed for the day. She was both mentally and physically drained from the work and stress that she was enduring.

She apparated to the alley behind her flat building and sluggishly walked up the steps. She reached her floor and unlocked the door and went in quickly closing it behind her. She pretty much threw her things to the floor and flopped onto her couch with a heavy sigh.

"Long day?"

Hermione jolted up with an earsplitting scream, pulling out her wand from her back pocket and pointing it straight in the face of her intruder.

Draco sat at her kitchen table with his hands raised in surrender and an eyebrow up in question. She stared at him, completely baffled.

"How the bloody hell did you get in my flat?!"

"You don't have very good security, Granger. It wasn't very difficult."

'Well if it was so easy to get in then it will be just as easy to get out!" She flailed her arms around and gestured to her door.

He blatantly ignored her.

"I made tea." He said, indicating to the two steaming tea cups.

Hermione was far to suspicious of him and most certainly did not want to drink the tea he had made. Given the things he had done to her just a day before she still didn't trust him.

Draco sighed, "It isn't bloody poisoned Hermione."

Cautiously Hermione moved towards the table with her wand still raised and took a seat across from him.

He gently pushed the tea towards her. She looked up into his eyes and almost gasped. His beautiful grey eyes were not harsh or cold as she was used to. Instead they seemed warm and welcoming and almost... sad. She could see the pain behind them and for that reason she felt all the hostility fade away.

She picked up the cup and took a long sip and sighed in content.

"I needed this." She said, smiling at him. "Thank you."

He shook his head, "Sure."

They sat in silence just drinking their tea when finally Hermione broke the silence.

"Why are you here Malfoy?"

Draco stared into the bottom of his cup and did not look up and meet her eyes.

"I wanted to ask you what would be appropriate attire to wear tomorrow."

He said it so quietly Hermione strained to hear him.

Confused she said, "Couldn't you have just sent an owl?"

Suddenly Draco was angry; "Well," he started, raising from his seat, "I'm sorry for trying to have better fucking communication with you Granger. Seeing as _you_ invited me to come work for you."

"_Excuse me?!_" Hermione rose from her chair too. "How in any way, shape, or form is this my fault? You brought this on yourself Malfoy! I could have gone to the bloody Ministry and turned your sorry arse in but _I didn't. _Instead I gave you a choice. You nearly killed me! How dare you stand here-"

Her speech was cut off when Malfoy grabbed one of the tea cups and threw it across the room in fury. It smashed against the wall and shattered, the shards flying around the room.

Dumbfounded, Hermione stood there in astonishment. She listened to Draco's heavy breathing, waiting, _watching_ to see if he was ready to shatter her as he had the tea cup.

But instead he did something that nearly took her breath away. He walked over to the mess he created and began to pick up the pieces. He was hunched over, careful not to have his knees touch the ground incase of small pieces.

Completely struck, Hermione just watched as he finished picking up the mess. She hadn't moved an inch for she was scared if she did he would know she was still there and he would pounce.

He stood and walked towards her. She couldn't help the few fearful steps she took away from him. But she did raise her eyes to meet his.

They were blank. The grey was dull and lifeless.

"Where's your rubbish bin?" He said softly.

"U-under the sink."

He threw the shards away and grabbed his coat from the back of the chair he was seated at. He turned towards Hermione, "Sorry."

Hermione nodded numbly.

He started for the door and was just about to leave before Hermione spoke.

"Be at the store a bit early tomorrow, Malfoy."

He turned, shock evident on his face, but then nodded and existed her flat soundlessly.


	15. Books

Today was the day Draco Malfoy would be coming to work for Hermione. She was so nervous she felt like her heart was going to jump from her chest at any given moment. She'd woken up extra early that morning, seeing as she could barely sleep in the first place. After Malfoy had left her flat last night, she had gone straight to bed. She couldn't handle thinking and worrying even more about the situation she had put herself in with the former Death Eater.

_Why hadn't she gone to the Ministry?_

She couldn't answer that question herself. She had lain up in bed trying to sleep but all she could think about, again, was Malfoy's eyes. A beautiful grey, but they were empty and seemed wiped of all emotion. It almost made it look like he hadn't seen a happy day in years. That was probably a side effect of the war upon him.

At this moment in time, Hermione was walking quickly down Diagon Alley to her small store. Witches and wizards bustled around her, rushing to get to their jobs. Sweet smells flew past her in waves, along with the chirping of owls and wizards and witches shouting about sales.

This was a place where Hermione felt at home. She smiled happily and watched everyone as they passed.

When she finally reached her store, she began to rummage around in her bag for her keys. After extracting her hand from her purse, she saw Malfoy leaning against the wall right next to her store. Hermione nearly tripped and fell over at the sight of him.

He stood with pride. His platinum blonde hair shined and glistened like gold in the morning sun. He was clad in black trousers and a button down Oxford white shirt and a midnight black cloak. He was beautiful, there was no denying it. But, because she was Hermione Granger, she mentally shook herself for thinking such a thing.

He had been watching the wizards and witches around him pass, just as Hermione had, but, they looked back at him with hate and disgust rather that a friendly glow when they noticed Hermione. Malfoy had a blank look on his face; she knew he was trying to be void of all emotion as people glared at him with burning hatred in their eyes. He gave off an air that he simply didn't care that they stared at him or whispered cruel things behind his back, or even if they said it plain to his face. He just played the part of uncaring.

Hermione admired him for that. He didn't let any weakness show, but she knew. She knew deep down inside he had the same feelings as any other person on this earth. He still could feel hurt, rejection, pain, loneliness, and every other emotion that was given a name, even the good ones.

"Good morning, Malfoy." Hermione greeted kindly when she reached him. She saw the wizards and witches around her react in astonishment to her polite greeting at the junior Malfoy.

Malfoy turned his head to her and locked his bright eyes onto hers.

"Morning, Granger." He stated.

She walked past him and up to the glass door of her shop before unlocking it and bustling inside, Malfoy following suit.

The simple layout of the shop gave it a warm homey feel. With just a large box room, rows and rows of shelves fit inside, packed to the brim with books beyond anyone's wildest dreams. In the front of the store there were big fluffy chairs placed in fours and coffee tables in front of it. To the right of the actual book store, there was another room attached. It was a small café. Hermione had bought this site specifically because her favorite thing to do was curl up in a big chair with a great book and a steaming cup of tea.

This store was like a second home to Hermione, and she couldn't help but think bringing Malfoy in wasn't a very good decision. She didn't want to be tormented on a daily basis, she didn't want to be teased for the way she ran things or how she organized her shelves. She was afraid having Malfoy here would be like a chore she didn't want to do.

And yet, here he was standing in the middle of the store, looking around. _Did he look… fascinated? No_, Hermione thought to herself, he most certain could not look fascinated; he is Draco Malfoy! But as his wide eyes drank in every detail of her little store, she was having second thoughts. Her head was spinning just watching him admire the little haven she'd created. She was so wrapped up in the fearful thoughts she didn't hear Malfoy speak until she saw him looking at her expectantly.

"Sorry. What?"

Malfoy rolled his eyes playfully; "I said this place is really amazing. You've really outdone yourself Granger."

Hermione blushed at his compliment of her little heaven and proceeded to the left side of the store where the register was. She led Malfoy into the little break room and set her purse down on her desk in the corner. She turned back around to see Malfoy was standing very, _very_ close to her. So close, in fact, his cologne wrapped around her in a cocoon making her dizzy.

She cleared her throat and took a few steps to the side and finally looked up at him. He was staring back. His eyes danced across the features of her face, and Hermione felt butterflies erupt in her stomach. She was absolutely horrified at what she was feeling. Just a few days ago he had beaten her down and broken her, made her fear for her life, and yet here he was now making her heart race and her cheeks redden.

"Well, Granger?" He said abruptly, looking away from her. "What will I being doing in my time here?"

"Ah, yes." Hermione made her way out of the break room and back into the store. "For the most part, you don't have a specific job." Hermione weaved her way in and out of the rows of shelves. "You'll be doing anything I tell you to do or you will help out the other employees I have. The only job you won't being doing is working in the café."

Hermione shuddered at the thought of Joey and Malfoy working together. She was pushing her limits by just having him here.

She walked towards the back of the store to the storage room that held the new arrivals of books. She felt Malfoy walking behind her but he walked so lightly and gracefully she couldn't hear his footsteps. She threw upon the door and went to the first box available. She grabbed the box and turned back to hand it to Malfoy. He looked at her and then looked at the box and then he looked at her again. Hermione raised an eyebrow at him.

"Take the box Malfoy." Hermione ordered.

His eyes narrowed dangerously, but Hermione didn't let it affect her. He sighed and moved closer and took the box. She gave off a little 'hmph' and raised her head before walking to the row labeled 'R'. She reached for the ladder she had to reach the top of the shelves and she put it there for Malfoy. He was a smart man and Hermione figured he would catch on quickly.

She turned around and looked at him and nearly laughed at what she saw. Malfoy stood awkwardly behind her, his face was red from having to hold the box of large books for so long. He was trying so desperately hard to keep the pain or any kind of emotion off his face Hermione just wanted to laugh all the more.

"You can just set them down," Hermione said sweetly, giving him a wide fake smile.

He just dropped the box to the floor and gave no response.

She chuckled lightly at his childishness.

"Now," she began, squatting to the floor to open the box. "All you have to do is sort these books by author's last name and put them in the correct place on the shelf."

She tried to take the tape off of the box to open it but it wasn't quite working.

"This shelf is for books by muggle authors with the surname of R. If anything in this box doesn't match that the just put it to the side for now."

Hermione was so frustrated by the time she finished explaining it to him. She _still_ hadn't been able to get the bloody tape off the box. She stood up to get her keys to she could rip it open when she heard the box open.

She looked at the open box and then looked at Malfoy. He was spinning his wand in his hand with a smirk on his pretty face.

"Do you forget you're a witch some times, Granger?" He said obnoxiously.

She blushed, thinking of how stupid she was for forgetting she had her wand tucked behind her ear. She ignored his comment but desperately she wanted to hex his balls off.

"Do you understand how to do this? If you need me to repeat any thi-"

"I'm not a moron Granger." He snapped.

Hermione watched him closely, looking for any signs of real fury. There was none.

"Alright." She said softly. "I'll be at the register, if you need me just call out. The other employees will be here in a half hour and store doesn't open for another half hour after that so you and Tony will have time to get these loaded."

He nodded in understanding. Hermione turned to walk back to the register but she took one last fleeting glance at her childhood nemesis. She watched him pull off his cloak and roll his sleeves up and begin to sort the books.

She felt herself blush as she hurried to the counter. Hermione thought maybe today wasn't going to be so bad after all.


	16. Understanding

Hermione stood at the register and furiously scribbled on a piece of parchment. She could barely keep her mind occupied, seeing as she kept constantly thinking about how Draco sodding Malfoy was in her shop loading books onto the shelves. So she did the next best thing she could and came up with ideas for new books and activities she could hold for avid readers like herself.

All the while, she couldn't help but every 10 minutes or so she peeked past the books and watch Malfoy as he did the job she assigned him. She kept telling herself over and over and over again not to but she just couldn't help it. He looked incredibly sexy with his collar askew and his sleeves rolled up. Not to mention his blonde hair was a mess and his muscles were straining due to the heaviness of the books.

But it's not like she noticed.

Hermione was watching him now and she almost had a heart attack when she saw his shirt lift to reveal a very defined and toned stomach.

"God damn, I'm so glad I got this job."

Hermione jumped almost 10 feet into the air at the sound of a voice.

"Bloody hell, Anna!" Hermione yelped. She hadn't even noticed Anna come in and stand next to her. "You can't just sneak up on someone like that!"

Anna gave her a wolfish grin, "I didn't, I said your name like ten times and you still didn't hear me."

Hermione felt her cheeks heat up at being discovered. She didn't realize it was _that_ obvious.

"Don't worry," Anna said, leaning over to whisper in Hermione's ear, "I would have been doing the same thing."

She whipped around the counter and Hermione watched as she walked down the aisle where Malfoy was working. Hermione had to physically stop herself from going over there just to get in the way of Anna talking to Malfoy. Instead, she went back to writing furiously on her parchment. Only a few minutes of hearing the infuriating sound of Anna and Malfoy laughing, the bell above her front door sounded.

She watched as Joey entered quickly out of the cold. His cheeks were red and he began to shed his cloak to hang it up when Hermione greeted him.

"Good morning, Joey," she said sending him a small smile.

He returned the smile and rubbed his hands together to warm them up; "Morning, Hermione."

"I would get started on the coffee; Mrs. Todd is going to be here soon for her morning browse."

"That bloody woman," he said fondly and Hermione laughed.

Joey started to make his way to the café part of the shop but stopped abruptly at the sound of laughter. Hermione's heart sped up as she awaited Joey's reaction.

He stopped cold and turned to look down the aisle in which Anna and Malfoy stood. His hands curled into fist and his face and neck turned a furious shade of red. Hermione knew she had to make things bearable between the two men, because if she didn't her shop would reduce to chaos.

"Joey," Hermione called softly. He slowly dragged his eyes away from the aisle and turned to look at Hermione. His blue eyes were bright in anger and leftover anguish. Hermione gave him a gentle look and nodded her head towards the café.

"I would put on the coffee soon."

Joey merely looked at her, stone faced and red, before he nodded curtly and strode away. Hermione sighed in relief, glad he hadn't started anything.

With a shaky breath, Hermione placed her quill down and wiped her clammy hands on her jeans before stepping away from the corner and walked towards the voices. As she walked she felt her shoulders getting heavier and heavier. Joey and Malfoy would have to face each other sooner or later.

She had a strong feeling that Malfoy would have no idea about the death of Joey's father was on the elder Malfoy's hands. Hermione figured Lucius did not keep track of every man he had killed during his time with the Dark Lord.

Hermione approached the two and immediately felt awkward. Anna was casually leaning against the left shelf with her foot up and knee out with her arms crossed. Her gaze was a flirtatious smile sent up at Malfoy who was on one of the ladders, shelving new novels. Malfoy wore his infamous smirk as he looked down on the American witch. She seemed completely unfazed by his relatively cold demeanor and it almost acted intrigued by it. Hermione hoped Anna was not the type of witch to that had to "fix a broken wizard."

Hermione cleared her throat as best she could, for it was quite dry. Both their eyes snapped towards her; Malfoy assessed her with a blank stare whereas Anna gave her a bright smile.

"Sorry, Hermione," Anna said, sounding far from apologetic, "I was just getting to know my new fellow employee." She began to waggle her eye brows and take glances at Malfoy's bum as he began to descend the ladder.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Anna, stop staring at his bum and go help Joe start up the café."

Anna gave out a huge belly laugh, having no shame in being put on the spot. She turned to Malfoy who, during this encounter, had just stood and watched with a smirk on his face. He knew the American had been checking him out, and he had no problem encouraging it.

Anna sent Malfoy an air kiss before turning away and gliding towards Hermione to leave the aisle. Before she went though, she stopped and whispered in Hermione's ear; "He could use a lioness, I think."

Hermione felt the blood rush to her cheeks as her eyes widened at Anna's remark. "Anna!"

Anna just gave a final laugh and strode away from them.

As Hermione continued to splutter in utter horror, Malfoy watched her in fascination, wishing he could have heard what the blonde had said to her.

Hermione collected herself and looked Malfoy deeply in the eye.

"There's something you need to know before you can meet some of the other employees."

Malfoy raised an eyebrow at her firm tone. He placed the books he had in his hands back in the box and turned his full attention to Hermione, crossing his toned arms over his chest.

"And what is it that I have to know?" He spoke calmly.

Hermione heaved a deep breath before explaining.

"Joey's father was among one of the many murders that your father was charged with after the war. Since his father died he's had a bit of an… obsession with getting revenge for his father by getting to you. He has yet to do anything so far a-and I honestly believe he won't do anything rash but you just… never know what people will do to get revenge."

Hermione looked up at Malfoy to see his reaction and saw something that surprised her. Malfoy looked almost _understanding_ in that moment.

He began to nod his head, softly at first then with more force.

"I understand," Malfoy began, running a hand through his hair and then down his face. "I'll be careful and watch my back but, I'll do my hardest not to be a wanker towards him. No need for me to fuel his anger even more."

Hermione's mouth dropped open in shock. She had expected a snarky comment or a roll of the eyes, _something_ other than complete understanding and control of the situation. But, quickly, she closed her mouth, not wanting Malfoy to see her shock. She straightened her shoulders and nodded curtly at Malfoy.

"Well, that's great. Hopefully everything will go well this next month."

He nodded in response and turned away from her and back to the box of books. Hermione stood there awkwardly as he went back to shelving without another word. She was ready to say something else when the bell for the door chimed, signaling someone new had arrived.

She turned on her heels without another word or glance towards Malfoy and went to see who had arrived.


End file.
